Uranium is a very plentiful heavy metal on our planet. It is very helpful to a lot of nuclear plants because they do not have to use rarer and more expensive elements. Uranium allows companies as well as the government to produce energy at a low cost. Uranium is used to produce electricity in factories, and its most well known use is in nuclear weapons. Uranium had no value at all until the mid 1900’s. Uranium is more plentiful than mercury on this planet most scientists believe.
Based on the Health implications of uranium it is terrible. It is scientifically proven that uranium causes cancer if there is too much exposure to it. The radioactive levels are terrible. If you live in an area near a mine or an area that has been infected with uranium because of power plants then your chances of cancer greatly will increase over time. Environmentally it is said to be bad to. It kills wild life the same way that it does humans. If it is in rivers or streams the wildlife around it will have uranium which is a heavy metal in their system. Economically and politically uranium does have its good sides. But only because it saves the higher power money so they don’t have to go and switch to something less dangerous like thorium.
My personal opinion on uranium is that it is bad. I know many people close to me who have had cancer and cancer related illnesses. It is really no joke, and it is one of those things where you don’t really care about it until it happens to you or someone close to you. I think that with all the money we spend already, why can’t we spend a little bit more on getting a less radioactive element to use as a substitute. Also I am not a big fan of nuclear weapons, so if there is less uranium, that means less nuclear weapons, so I’m happy. As far as the element itself I think it should not be totally “banned” but it should be cut down on so it is not used as much.
Background
Uranium is one of the heaviest naturally occurring elements on earth. Uranium is a metal that had no value or use until the middle of the 1900’s. Uranium was at first usually only used as a byproduct. Once mining for uranium started to take place, uranium was used for nuclear explosives and other nuclear weapons. Uranium was used in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the 1940’s. Uranium does have other uses but these uses don’t actually need the uranium. It can be switched with less harmful and less rare materials.
Because Uranium is so radioactive a lot of the things it could be used for are not made with uranium. When Uranium was first discovered, it was used mainly as an oxide and was used in pigments, ceramic glazes, and a yellow-green fluorescent glass. It was also used for medical purposes as a source of radium. At one point it was also used in steels and other metals to make them more durable and strong. But after the radioactivity in uranium was discovered it was replaced with less dangerous materials.
Scientists found a new use for uranium. They figured out that there were benefits and other uses for the radioactive element. It was used for certain types of fuel before it became a major ingredient for nuclear weapons. It is beneficial to scientists in the way that it is so plentiful. Scientists believe there is more uranium on Earth than mercury.
Synthesis/production
The process of uranium production is very specific. The ore is crushed and so is the ground for liberation of the mineral products. After that it is leached with sulfuric acid. “UO3 + 2H+ => UO22+ + H2O”. After the leaching is the solvent extraction where the uranium is purified. 2 (R3NH)2SO4 + UO2(SO4)34- ====> (R3NH)4UO2(SO4)3 + 2SO42. Inpurities are then removed using sulfuric acid once again.
All of this is done to completely purify the uranium that is mined and get everything else that is not wanted out of it. There are probably more steps to it than this. Especially when uranium is used in nuclear weapons I doubt these are the only steps. These types of purification steps, ones that the government uses would be pretty much impossible to find in a way that the U.S. citizens should not know how to do this according to our government. Below is a drawn out description of how uranium can be purified.
Human health implications of uranium
Uranium is genotoxic and carcinogenic, it has many harmful effects if there is too much exposure to the human body. Uranium is a silvery, heavy element and one of the problems it can have if there is too much exposure towards it is lead poisoning. Uranium eventually disintegrates into lead. Because it is a heavy metal it is much like mercury and cadmium. But Uranium is much more plentiful across the planet than other heavy metals. The exposure to it has increased ever since it has been recently used in warfare. Some of the exposure is in coal, coal plants, and coal mining. Uranium can be exposed to nearby civilization and nearby people through all of those things. Uranium, when it was first discovered was used in household items but once scientists found the downside to it and discovered all of the problems it can cause it was pretty much eliminated from your average home. But being exposed to a lot of coal especially if you are a coal miner then you are at high risk of being over exposed to uranium.
A huge example of radiation poisoning in the northern hemisphere is the
Chernobyl disaster. It was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. It was the only level 7 on the international nuclear event scale ever recorded. It covered pretty much all of Europe, the Soviet Union, and even reached to the eastern section of North America. Millions have been and are being exposed to a huge amount of radiation and the amount of cancer in that part of the world is ridiculously high.
Iron Stream Environmental implications
The fact that Uranium is so widely spread across the Earth makes it impossible to avoid completely. Although it may only be small amounts uranium can be found in the air, water, and soil. This can be harmful to rivers and streams in the same way that lead can poison fish and chemically pollute the environment. Uranium is much more rare to be found in the air but it is not unheard of. Uranium can pass through water by going over rocks and soil and picking it up off of that. How this uranium usually gets released into the environment is mining and if the area is near a chemical or nuclear factory. The only way really that Uranium can be in the air we breath is through dust that has just infected the area.
Ingesting a small amount of uranium is basically harmless, even to fish it does not post that much of a threat. That is because when uranium is in the environment it is not in its element state and it is less radioactive because it is mixed with other things. Although, large amounts can definitely pose a threat to wild life and humans. Uranium can build up in the soil and even in plants, because it stays there and even expands. Compounds combine with compounds and the uranium is passed on and it can stay in soil for years. As it was said earlier, Uranium can turn to lead. And that will without a doubt hurt people and the environment long term.
Economic/political impact
Uranium can be argued as good and bad. Especially when it comes to the political aspect of things. Uranium is one of the more plentiful heavy metals on our planet. When they first started testing the idea of nuclear power plants for electricity, Thorium was in the design, not uranium. Thorium is one of the more rare metals that exists on our earth. Although it would be a better alternative because it is not as radioactive, it is so rare that it could never match what uranium has done. Thorium was tested by many scientists to try and prove that it is better than uranium but it was pretty much impossible to say that unless you take health issues into account, which most nuclear power plant owners do not.
One of the largest world-wide exporters of uranium is Australia. If uranium were to be banned in this country, the outcome would not be so bad to some people, but of course many would disagree. First of all, Nuclear power plants would have more trouble doing there job and it might cost more for electricity. Also we would not have as many if any nuclear bombs and other weapons in this country.
Summary-
To be honest, I have mixed thoughts on uranium. I myself think that it should not be used as heavily and it should not be as exposed to the environment and people. I know many people that have different types of cancer and weather or not it is from over exposure to radioactive waves it is really sad. So I personally think that it is bad. But I know that the chances of anything better being used are very slim so I cannot really hope that things will change the way I wish they would.
There are some costs and there are some benefits from cutting down on uranium use. Some of the costs of boycotting uranium would be that we would need more expensive and much more rare metals to replace it. Also it would be more difficult to have nuclear weapons, for some people that is a bad thing for others its good. Some of the benefits are that peoples health would be better. It would be pretty much impossible for people to ingest or be overexposed to uranium. That means less cancer and that could be a huge benefit to the health in our society.
Iron Stream
Abstract
Uranium is a very plentiful heavy metal on our planet. It is very helpful to a lot of nuclear plants because they do not have to use rarer and more expensive elements. Uranium allows companies as well as the government to produce energy at a low cost. Uranium is used to produce electricity in factories, and its most well known use is in nuclear weapons. Uranium had no value at all until the mid 1900’s. Uranium is more plentiful than mercury on this planet most scientists believe.
Based on the Health implications of uranium it is terrible. It is scientifically proven that uranium causes cancer if there is too much exposure to it. The radioactive levels are terrible. If you live in an area near a mine or an area that has been infected with uranium because of power plants then your chances of cancer greatly will increase over time. Environmentally it is said to be bad to. It kills wild life the same way that it does humans. If it is in rivers or streams the wildlife around it will have uranium which is a heavy metal in their system. Economically and politically uranium does have its good sides. But only because it saves the higher power money so they don’t have to go and switch to something less dangerous like thorium.
My personal opinion on uranium is that it is bad. I know many people close to me who have had cancer and cancer related illnesses. It is really no joke, and it is one of those things where you don’t really care about it until it happens to you or someone close to you. I think that with all the money we spend already, why can’t we spend a little bit more on getting a less radioactive element to use as a substitute. Also I am not a big fan of nuclear weapons, so if there is less uranium, that means less nuclear weapons, so I’m happy. As far as the element itself I think it should not be totally “banned” but it should be cut down on so it is not used as much.
Background
Uranium is one of the heaviest naturally occurring elements on earth. Uranium is a metal that had no value or use until the middle of the 1900’s. Uranium was at first usually only used as a byproduct. Once mining for uranium started to take place, uranium was used for nuclear explosives and other nuclear weapons. Uranium was used in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the 1940’s. Uranium does have other uses but these uses don’t actually need the uranium. It can be switched with less harmful and less rare materials.
Because Uranium is so radioactive a lot of the things it could be used for are not made with uranium. When Uranium was first discovered, it was used mainly as an oxide and was used in pigments, ceramic glazes, and a yellow-green fluorescent glass. It was also used for medical purposes as a source of radium. At one point it was also used in steels and other metals to make them more durable and strong. But after the radioactivity in uranium was discovered it was replaced with less dangerous materials.
Scientists found a new use for uranium. They figured out that there were benefits and other uses for the radioactive element. It was used for certain types of fuel before it became a major ingredient for nuclear weapons. It is beneficial to scientists in the way that it is so plentiful. Scientists believe there is more uranium on Earth than mercury.
Synthesis/production
The process of uranium production is very specific. The ore is crushed and so is the ground for liberation of the mineral products. After that it is leached with sulfuric acid. “UO3 + 2H+ => UO22+ + H2O”. After the leaching is the solvent extraction where the uranium is purified. 2 (R3NH)2SO4 + UO2(SO4)34- ====> (R3NH)4UO2(SO4)3 + 2SO42. Inpurities are then removed using sulfuric acid once again.
All of this is done to completely purify the uranium that is mined and get everything else that is not wanted out of it. There are probably more steps to it than this. Especially when uranium is used in nuclear weapons I doubt these are the only steps. These types of purification steps, ones that the government uses would be pretty much impossible to find in a way that the U.S. citizens should not know how to do this according to our government. Below is a drawn out description of how uranium can be purified.
Human health implications of uranium
Uranium is genotoxic and carcinogenic, it has many harmful effects if there is too much exposure to the human body. Uranium is a silvery, heavy element and one of the problems it can have if there is too much exposure towards it is lead poisoning. Uranium eventually disintegrates into lead. Because it is a heavy metal it is much like mercury and cadmium. But Uranium is much more plentiful across the planet than other heavy metals. The exposure to it has increased ever since it has been recently used in warfare. Some of the exposure is in coal, coal plants, and coal mining. Uranium can be exposed to nearby civilization and nearby people through all of those things. Uranium, when it was first discovered was used in household items but once scientists found the downside to it and discovered all of the problems it can cause it was pretty much eliminated from your average home. But being exposed to a lot of coal especially if you are a coal miner then you are at high risk of being over exposed to uranium.
A huge example of radiation poisoning in the northern hemisphere is the
Chernobyl disaster. It was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. It was the only level 7 on the international nuclear event scale ever recorded. It covered pretty much all of Europe, the Soviet Union, and even reached to the eastern section of North America. Millions have been and are being exposed to a huge amount of radiation and the amount of cancer in that part of the world is ridiculously high.
Iron Stream Environmental implications
The fact that Uranium is so widely spread across the Earth makes it impossible to avoid completely. Although it may only be small amounts uranium can be found in the air, water, and soil. This can be harmful to rivers and streams in the same way that lead can poison fish and chemically pollute the environment. Uranium is much more rare to be found in the air but it is not unheard of. Uranium can pass through water by going over rocks and soil and picking it up off of that. How this uranium usually gets released into the environment is mining and if the area is near a chemical or nuclear factory. The only way really that Uranium can be in the air we breath is through dust that has just infected the area.
Ingesting a small amount of uranium is basically harmless, even to fish it does not post that much of a threat. That is because when uranium is in the environment it is not in its element state and it is less radioactive because it is mixed with other things. Although, large amounts can definitely pose a threat to wild life and humans. Uranium can build up in the soil and even in plants, because it stays there and even expands. Compounds combine with compounds and the uranium is passed on and it can stay in soil for years. As it was said earlier, Uranium can turn to lead. And that will without a doubt hurt people and the environment long term.
Economic/political impact
Uranium can be argued as good and bad. Especially when it comes to the political aspect of things. Uranium is one of the more plentiful heavy metals on our planet. When they first started testing the idea of nuclear power plants for electricity, Thorium was in the design, not uranium. Thorium is one of the more rare metals that exists on our earth. Although it would be a better alternative because it is not as radioactive, it is so rare that it could never match what uranium has done. Thorium was tested by many scientists to try and prove that it is better than uranium but it was pretty much impossible to say that unless you take health issues into account, which most nuclear power plant owners do not.
One of the largest world-wide exporters of uranium is Australia. If uranium were to be banned in this country, the outcome would not be so bad to some people, but of course many would disagree. First of all, Nuclear power plants would have more trouble doing there job and it might cost more for electricity. Also we would not have as many if any nuclear bombs and other weapons in this country.
Summary-
To be honest, I have mixed thoughts on uranium. I myself think that it should not be used as heavily and it should not be as exposed to the environment and people. I know many people that have different types of cancer and weather or not it is from over exposure to radioactive waves it is really sad. So I personally think that it is bad. But I know that the chances of anything better being used are very slim so I cannot really hope that things will change the way I wish they would.
There are some costs and there are some benefits from cutting down on uranium use. Some of the costs of boycotting uranium would be that we would need more expensive and much more rare metals to replace it. Also it would be more difficult to have nuclear weapons, for some people that is a bad thing for others its good. Some of the benefits are that peoples health would be better. It would be pretty much impossible for people to ingest or be overexposed to uranium. That means less cancer and that could be a huge benefit to the health in our society.